Be Prepared-Where Were You in ’89?

One easy way to tell which city dwellers have grown up in the Golden State and which ones haven’t is that Californians tend to be fond of referencing â€œearthquake weatherâ€, usually have some bottles of water, an economy sized box of ramen or cans stashed somewhere, and swap stories about where they were when the last major one happened.

In the Bay Area it was twenty years ago this Saturday afternoon when that death trap that takes you to Oakland collapsed and the entire world watched the surreal Game 3 coverage of the World Series in Candlestick Park.

So to get our complacent asses motivated and make sure we’re all ready for the next floor show from the San Andreas or one its little chorus girls comes tap dancing through, there’s a whole slew of events set up by the city and the state having started this week and going through the weekend.

There’s a statewide earthquake drill this morning and some preparedness fairs on Saturday, as well as ceremonies commemorating that afternoon and how the city came together and didn’t completely lose it.

Go down and get informed, buy some water, flashlights and a variety of canned delights. Lord knows the next big one ain’t gonna be pretty.

Stephen Torres - Threadbare-Fact Finder

Stephen's early years were spent in a boxcar overlooking downtown Los Angeles. From there he moved around the state with his family before settling under the warm blanket of smog that covers suburban Southern California. Moving around led to his inabilty to stay in one place for very long, but San Francisco has been reeling him back in with its siren song since 1999.
By trade he pours booze, but likes to think he can write and does so occasionally for people like the SF Bay Guardian. He also likes to enoy time spent in old eateries, bars and businesses that, by most standards, would have been condemned a long time ago.

http://goldengatebeerblog.wordpress.com troymccluresf

Hendu was clearly out at second.

JMTORRES

The reminder’s are essential, and I do like Kate’s list, however she should suggest that cash set aside should be at least $100. There will be no ATM service and any purchases if they haven’t been stolen by looting will be done in cash only like it was when Northridge rolled on through and all markets were not able to do anything electronic. Be prepared to have good shoes, because you will walk alot because gas will be distributed to emergency and essential personnel only. When my friend Keiko and her husband survived the Kobe quake in Japan in 95, she was lugging water up a hill for 6 weeks to just to do washing up. Their vehicle, one of the few vans not demolished, was commandeered to carry the dead out of the city. I will let you know that I have had many orders for earthquake insurance and this will be necessary since FEMA will not be able to help very much. I remember where I was when I hear about the quake in SF and how my cousin, Mike who lived and worked in the City had decided to leave his office early that day to watch the World Series and had crossed the Bay Bridge only about a hour before the quake hit. Yeah for Baseball, it saved many lives that day. Be prepared and keep your shoes by your bed or wherever you put your head down at night. Be Safe and God bless.
Ajne

Melba Peach

Hahahaha….of course mom has her own list…good work Stevie pie, I agree…everytime our building quivers, have the reaction to go under my desk…when it’s really just freshmen playing the music with super high bass. Oyf, have some spam n’eggs for me dearie.

http://katekotler.com/ Kate Kotler – DIY Diva

Hey JM — you’re right, if you can you should at least set aside $100. But, I’m generally a broke-ass, so I can’t really afford to sock away a C-note in case of ER (or, I could, but I usually end up raiding the envelope when I’m super broke). $20 is my bare minimum.

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